Adidas strengthen ties in China

As part of their ongoing efforts to strengthen their global control over their brands, Adidas have reached an agreement with New Point Industrial to take over the distribution and license rights for the Reebok brand in China. Effective January 1, 2007, Adidas will hold the exclusive distribution rights for all Reebok products in China. This follows the purchase in May of the distribution rights for the Reebok brand in Russia by Adidas. Buying out distributors and joint venture partners has proved to be very successful for the company. The Adidas business in Italy has more than doubled since the buyout in 2002 and there have also been sizeable gains in Turkey, Denmark and Portugal, where buyouts occurred in the past five years. China and Russia, in particular, were identified as the countries with the biggest opportunities.